Jack Cade's Cavern is a

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

rn, extending several hundred feet underground, in

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

, south-east

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England. It is located northwest of the Heath and southwest of

Greenwich Park Greenwich Park is a former hunting park in Greenwich and one of the largest single green spaces in south-east London. One of the Royal Parks of London, and the first to be enclosed (in 1433), it covers , and is part of the Greenwich World Herita ...

, mostly beneath the lawn of Hollymount Close. It was re-discovered in about the year 1780.Old and New London, Blackheath and Charlton
Volume 6, pp. 224–236. by Edward Walford, 1878 They are also referred to as the Blackheath Caverns.The Archaeological mine, antiquarian nuggets relating to Kent by A. J. Dunkin, Vol. 1 No. 7, 1855
/ref> The entrance was at the end of a row of small cottages called "Cavern Cottages" at the rear of Trinity Church on Blackheath Hill,Caverns At Blackheath, Letter to the editor by Mr. G. W. Younger,

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

, 31 Oct 1939, p. 4, col D (destroyed in

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Dimensions

Entered by a flight of forty steps,Underground passages, caverns, etc. of Greenwich and Blackheath, a lecture by J. M. Stone to the Greenwich Antiquarian Society, 26 February 1914 it consisted of three or more separate

rns joined to one another by tunnels. The first or main cavern is roughly circular and about in diameter. Leading from this is another about . There is a long, winding passage leading to a chamber which is about , varying in height from to , with a

well A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...

of pure water, in depth, although in 1939 this was found to be , partly brick lined and quite dry.Caverns Found At Blackheath Air-Raid Shelters Ready Made, ''The Times'', 27 Oct 1939, p. 5, col B At its lowest it is from the surface.

Notes and references

External links

www.shadyoldlady.com
The location of the last known entrance to Jack Cade's Caverns.

Mr Budd & The Temple of Doom by Tony Lord

{{Coord, 51.4733, -0.0112, display=title, type:landmark Buildings and structures in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Caves of London Geography of the Royal Borough of Greenwich Air raid shelters in the United Kingdom Blackheath, London

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External links